The Kill
by Glamagirl
Summary: He acted on an impulse, he messed up. What could follow after that?
1. Chapter 1

The Kill

For Phil Brooks, anger had always been a hard feeling to battle. Once it invaded him and exploded within his psyche there was not much he could do about it, and as he sat by the edge of the bed with his jaw painfully clenched he could already feel it taking control of his emotions.

It had always been like that for him, he lived his emotions to the extreme and even though he had spent half his life trying to tame the wild impulses that anger provoked in him, he knew that one day he was going to give in and that it was going to make him sink to lowest depths of depravity.

It was that bad but what was worse, he knew he could become pretty messed up when angry and for that same reason he was trying his best to swallow down his feelings and forget all about it; after all he had no right to have those feeling harboring inside because she plain and simply wasn't his.

She never has been and she probably never would, and even though they had spent the last several months seeing each other pretty often they had barely trespassed the boundaries of a very platonic friendship. There was that and there was also the fact that she had made it crystal clear to him that she wasn't looking for any kind of relationship.

Not with him, not with anyone.

He had respected that, he was aware that she just recently walked out of a very messy relationship and he understood that. She needed time… and time he had given her.

For months he had been there without throttling her, just offering a friendship that she reciprocated without reservation. At first it had been just that, two people who lived a very similar life getting to know each other, nothing more, nothing less.

But a sane person couldn't spend so much time with her without wanting to go a step further, and after getting to know her better his view on their friendship quickly changed and he wanted them to become more than friends.

It had been so natural for him to feel that way, she was smart, she was fun, and she was beautiful; she was everything he could ever want in a woman and it only took him a couple of months to know that he wanted more than a friendship with her.

She knew it, the same way she had made it clear that she didn't want to get into a relationship with him or with anyone else for that matter he had made it clear to her that he wanted more.

Of course, she had kindly brushed him off… at first. But he didn't let her renouncement put him down because even when she said over and over again that she didn't want another shot at love he could see contradiction in her eyes. She liked him more than what she was letting him know, he was sure of that and just recently as the previous month he took a big step that corroborated his suspicious, he kissed her. He has done it on an impulse and she didn't push him away. Sure, she didn't let it get pass that but he got to do it a few more times after that day and every time his result was the same, she ended up kissing him back.

He didn't know where did that evolution in their friendship put them but it was sure more than before. After that first kiss their friendship took a new phase and he liked it, they flirted more, there were calls in the middle of the night that had no purpose other than listening to each other and yeah, there were also those sweet but very furtive kisses that made him craving for more.

He was so close of getting to where he wanted that he could almost taste it, he just needed to give her time… or that was what he thought before seeing that picture.

The image came out of nowhere, he didn't even know who sent it and when he tried to call the number back he never got an answer; but that was not important, the importance on it all was the picture itself.

Swallowing down, he lowered his eyes away from the image flashing through his phone. He didn't want anger to get the best of him but he could already feel it running through his veins, gnawing at his bones and settling somewhere in his heart.

There was no point to fight it, it was already there whether he wanted it or not.

Now, anger wasn't the only unwanted sentiment simmering within him, he was also feeling hurt. That has been the first emotion that hit him full force when he first saw the picture and not even his building anger could overshadow that one; he was just… crushed, and feeling that way only increased his anger.

But it was no one's fault but his own because he should have expected something like that to happen; after all there was a saying that said that when something seemed too good to be true, it was probably because it was not true and Beth… Beth was too good to true.

So yeah, that little picture has angered him because she knew how he felt towards her and she gave him wings to fly so very high only to let him crash down with so much impetus. It angered him because she knew she wasn't going to give him a chance and she still let him hope by letting him kiss her and by giving him the impression that she was just too fucking perfect.

A dark mood getting over him, he allowed his olive green eyes to go back to the picture, his finger tracing the outline of her face. He could only see her profile in the image and as he inspected it he couldn't help but to notice the way her eyes were closed as she kissed him, as she kissed another guy that wasn't him.

Sure, he knew they two of them were going to work a FCW event over the weekend and thus they were undoubtedly going to run into each other at some point, but it never crossed his mind that she was going to engage in a kissing fest with him and let alone that the image was going to find its way to him.

Oh but it had, he saw the picture alright and the image had angered him and upset him more than he would have thought, and when he was angry he didn't think things before doing them and his mind was telling him to go to her and let her get a piece of his mind, perhaps something more.

It was the least she could get from him, after all she has been playing with him and that was what hurt the most, that he trusted her and even though she pulled that one on him.

Getting up to his feet, the man known simply as Punk walked to the door and out of his room. He had a visit to make. Beth was in that same hotel and he felt like he needed to see her… and show her a lesson in kind.

XxXxXxXxX

The first thought that ran through her mind when she heard the initial knock on her door was that it better not be Cody. The last thing she wanted in that moment was to hear her ex-boyfriend go on with his continuous rant about why they should be back together.

It was bad enough that she had to endure his presence and his begging all day through Saturday and it would be more than disquieting to open the door and find him there.

Wasn't it clear to him that she didn't want to see him and let alone go back into dating him? She knew she has been clear with him in their last conversation and after flying out of Florida and making it to Atlanta, she has been able to reach a state of pure nirvana and it was not her intention to listen or see him so late during that night.

She was not going to open that door and let him ruin her peace.

But as she turned over to her side and hugged the pillow closer to her body, realization washed over her. It couldn't be Cody, her ex-boyfriend was now four States away for a Smackdown house show and thus he couldn't be the one knocking.

Sighing deeply, she pulled the comforter over her head and shut her eyes tightly; Cody or not she was going to completely ignore the continued knocking, after all it was late at night and by all rights she shouldn't be disturbed. She was already in bed and even though she wasn't sleeping yet, she intended to drift off in Morpheus' arms very soon.

But… what if it was important?

The battery of her phone has died on her a couple of hours ago and since she forgot to pack her charger, the iPhone was turned off and laying over the nightstand. That meant that whoever was at the door could have been trying to reach her for hours.

It could be an emergency for all she knew.

What if Nattie needed support after her messed up break-up with Tyson? The last time she saw her, the younger woman was very upset about it after being there before, she knew how hard it could be to deal with the aftermath of a separation.

Yeah, it could be that…

Still feeling reluctant, the blonde diva grunted under her breath and blinked whatever trace of sleep she had in her system while dragging herself out of the bed. Once up she walked on bare foot to the door and looked through the peephole.

It was kind of dark out in the corridor and the looking glass distorted the image on the other side, but that was no impediment for her, she could recognize the man outside anywhere, anytime.

It was Phil.

Unable to keep her lips from curving into a smile, she quickly combed her fingers through her hair, hoping that she was doing an okay job… but as her hand occupied itself with that task her eyes took a glance down her body to realize that her hair was the last of her problems.

She looked a complete mess, wearing her flannel red pajama bottoms and a plain white tank top that screamed nothing but ordinary.

That was the last thing she wanted to look in front of his eyes, ordinary, and if she had known that he was going to show at her door in the middle of the night she would have made herself look more presentable.

But she hadn't know, the last time she spoke to him was two days ago so whatever his reason to be knocking on her door so late was a mystery to her.

Now Phil… as much as she has been trying not to get too much into him it was difficult, he made it extremely difficult. Little by little he was undermining her once strong resolution about not dating another wrestler in her life and she was seriously considering things with him; her reluctance was turning into dull acceptance and deep within she knew that a day would come when she would just give in.

That she was letting things take their time was nothing against her platonic friend, but after a messy relationship that left a bitter taste in her mouth, she just wanted to focus in job; her plans just didn't include letting another man into her life…

Or at least that was until he came along offering a friendship that soon blossomed into something more.

At first she fought it, trying to turn a blind eye to the palpable attraction between them, but now things had come to a point where there was not much to do about it but let it happen… and that it was going to happen seemed imminent.

The whole thing made her feel a bit antsy because she really liked Phil and even though she knew he was nothing like Cody, she still had some reservations; after all there was so much of the same she could handle and she didn't want to be in a position where she and Phil would be at odds.

She cared about him too much to let that happen.

That she was holding back was just a case of her being silly because she knew she shouldn't worry about him. After the months she had spent knowing him better, she was sure that he would never hurt her in any possible way and she was sure that she could trust him with closed eyes.

So with that in mind she bit the inside of her cheek and opened the door to let him in.

XxXxXxXxX

At the other side Phil stood still, facing the door and waiting. He knew she was in that room and he was determined not to walk away without at least telling her a thing or two about the fact that she played him for a fool. He needed to get it off his system or else it was going to consume him.

On his way there he tried to convince himself to let it go but it was near impossible; he was feeling betrayed. After a few bad experiences of his own, betrayal would always leave a bitter taste in his mouth and it was hard for him to swallow it down. She knew that, she knew all about that and look what she did.

It was true that they were not officially going out or anything but it was all about principles; if she had plans of getting back with Cody, the least she could have done was let him know so he wouldn't get his hopes up. But no, instead of doing that she decided to lead him on into believing the sweet promise that her lips would leave on him when he kissed her.

Now that was gone, he basically lost her before even having her… she never gave him a fair chance.

He remembered that one day not too long ago he asked her if she was ever going to give him a chance, the question came out of nowhere and his tone had been playful even when it carried some seriousness in it. Her response had been a smile, a teasing roll of her eyes and a change of subject.

A sensible person would have told him right there that his chances were zero; yeah it would have stung some but at least he would have respected her for being honest. Now instead of respect he felt only anger… maybe some disappointment too.

If this had happened at the beginning it wouldn't have hit him so hard because at the beginning her reluctance was strong, but after that first kiss the relationship underwent an evolution that edged in two people exploring the possibilities of taking the next step… or at least that's what he thought, how wrong he has been.

It was always like that, women loved men who treated them bad and treated bad the ones who loved them. That was the story of his life; maybe he should switch teams and act like the jerk everyone thought he was, because being one of the good ones hadn't done anything for him.

That was the thought that was running through his mind when the door of the room finally opened and the woman who was stealing his sanity greeted him with a smile.

"It's one o'clock in the morning so you better have a good reason to be here, Phil." Her words would have sounded harsh if it wasn't for her sweet tone and the little fake smile that he used to like so much.

She was truly a master when it came to playing him. But not anymore, now the roles would be inverted and he was going to show her how it felt to be used and discarded. He needed to do it before she would do it herself.

With a rush of determination splashing over him, he took three steps forward that made her retreat as he entered the room, his darkened eyes never leaving hers.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, knitting her brows as he closed the door behind him. Her face showed concern and he wondered if this was really what he needed to do, after all one wrong didn't justify another one… "Phil, what is it?"

Instead of granting her an answer he reached for her waist with one arm and swirled her around so he could corner her against the door, trapping her between the wooden barrier and his body; then before she could voice any kind of protest he descended his face towards her and kissed her hard.

Her initial response was resistance but that was probably due to surprise; she tensed and tried to move her face away but he didn't allow her any of those things and pressed harder against her. By the time he finally broke pass her lips to do things properly, her contention crumbled down and she started to reciprocate the kiss.

It was not the first time they kissed, but their kisses from the past had been nothing but a few brief meetings of their lips and now… now it was so much more than that.

Now her pliant lips parted on their own accord to grant him access and that right there made his head spin, and the way her tongue followed his dance made his breathing stop for a second.

She felt just fucking great and that did nothing to dissipate his anger, on the contrary, that she was kissing him back with the same fervor as his only made him remember her betrayal.

Did she kiss Cody in that same manner while they were in Florida? Did Cody enjoy as he was enjoying the sweet taste of her tongue moving against his?

Now, he wasn't sure if passion with anger was a good mix but he was going to allow both to run free and dictate his actions. So without breaking off the kiss he slid his hands down her back until they reached the edge of her pants, then he moved them down so his palms could sneak beneath the fabric of her underwear, cupping her flesh and bringing her closer to him; making her feel the stiffening erection inside his own pants.

That's when she pulled her head back and ended the kiss. "Wait-" She breathed out, her hands resting on his chest while she tried to formulate a coherent thought. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing yet." He said in a dark whisper, his hands kneading her naked behind while his eyes took in her appearances.

Her lips were parted and swollen, her face was flushed and her deep blue eyes were dark and sparkling. She had never looked more stunning in his eyes, standing there in her cute pajamas and with her hair all tousled.

He wanted her… no matter what she did he wanted her more than before.

Reassuming his sweet attack on her, he buried his face into the nape of her neck, inhaling her scent while his tongue tasted her skin until she trembled. Maybe it was true that Cody was the one she loved, but judging by her reactions he could tell that she at least felt attracted to him in some way and he was going to use that against her.

So with that in mind he traced a path of warm kisses from her throat to her collarbone, his teeth nipping and his tongue tasting. When he reached her shoulders he took his hands away from her ass and lowered himself just enough so he could kiss her stomach.

XxXxXxXxXxX

She gasped, her muscles tightening as she felt his hands pulling her pants lower while his lips kissed their way down her stomach and then even lower, reaching that part of her anatomy that was screaming for attention.

"Phil…" Beth had no idea how things progressed so quickly, but she was not in a position to muse about those things now… or even stopping them. She knew that this was going to happen sooner or later but never in her mind was it like this, so raw. He just walked in, kissed her like never before and soon things got out of control.

Now he was crouching down in front of her, his hands firmly set on her hips while his lips moved around until they reached her core.

Her breathing stopped when she felt him there, teasing her, his tongue darting out to run along the most intimate part of her being through the moistened fabric of her panties. But even though her sensitive flesh was covered she couldn't help but to let a moan escape her mouth, the sensation of his lips on her was too intense.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The raspy moan she emitted worked sorcery on him, the simple fact that she was enjoying herself making his body act on primitive sensory level. This was Beth and he was making her moan and tremble without even showing her half the things he could do to her.

Wanting to take things further he pushed with a lone finger the edge of her silk panties out of his way; once uncovered he used that same finger to probe her, parting her and feeling the warm wetness of her arousal, his eyes drinking on the sight of her.

She was pliable, encouraging him to go on with a series of soft whimpers that made his arousal twitch inside his pants, and because she was so much into it he leaned his face to her, pressing his lips against her bare flesh as the tip of his tongue tasted her.

"God… Phil-" Another moan, this time he felt her fingers tightening on his hair, encouraging him to keep going. Not like he needed the encouragement, he was going to keep going until she begged him for more.

The taste of her was intoxicating, this was her in the most intimate and he couldn't get enough, he lapped at her entrance and he sucked into his mouth her special bundle of nerves until her body was a trembling mess.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, his voice low in his throat.

"No… don't stop." She whimpered.

"What was that? I can't hear you, Beth." He pulled away from her and looked up. He has been wrong before, now it was when she found her more stunning… she was just beyond beautiful. But he wasn't going to let that take him away from what he came to do…

"Don't stop, God don't stop." She moaned, her darkening eyes casted down on him.

He complied to her needs, his tongue going back to work on her until her breathing got even more ragged, until her grip on his hair got stronger and until she reached the edge of her passion with a symphony of soft moans that made him ache for her.

As she rode down her wave of pleasure, Phil got to his feet and unzipped his pants, freeing his trapped arousal out of its bondage.

Watching her reach the edge was an experience he would never forget, he was the one who brought her there and even if the circumstances were kind of wicked, he couldn't help but to feel his ego burst; after all she reached her edge for him.

Ready to keep things going, Phil looked at her, she was still resting against the door so once he was face to face with her he pressed himself to her, lifting one of her legs off the floor and positioning his body in a way that it was going to take him only a little push to get inside of her.

"Not here… let's go to bed," She breathed out while brushing her hair out of her face.

Phil pursed his lips and looked at her through eyes of steel. He didn't want to go to bed, he was trying to detach his feelings from his lust and if he took her to bed he was going to end mixing both and ruining all. Just the thought of her body underneath his in a skin to skin full contact was enough in his mind to forget about the fact that she was still seeing Cody; he could end up begging her to leave that jerk in his favor and that would be no good. "I want it here; I want to fuck you through that door." With that said he pushed deep inside of her with a single thrust, closing his eyes and grunting at the sensation.

Beth was warm and tight, that was the first thing he noticed, that and that it felt great to be buried inside of her. In the past when he envisioned that moment it never happened against a damn door, he thought she was worth more than that and it was his intention to give her more; but that was before and the only thing that he wanted now was to get what he could and walk out.

Once settled he felt her nails digging into the skin of his shoulder, it made him open his eyes for a second before capturing her lips in a hungry kiss.

She kissed him back as soon as his lips touched hers, letting him know that she was very much into the whole thing even when she had rather made things a bit different.

"Do you still want me to keep going?" He mumbled against her lips, slamming into her insistently.

"Yes." She panted, the sound of her voice giving him more fuel. It made him kiss her even harder.

Her acceptance was too much for his body to take and after a while he began to feel his momentum reaching its top. It was going to be a matter of a few more thrusts and he would be a goner.

Refusing to let go of her lips he grabbed her hips and increased his rhythm, going at her fast and hard, banging her against the door until his climax reached him and he exploded inside of her.

He grunted, his mind getting so fussy that he couldn't coordinate well, he had to end the kiss because of that but let his lips pressed to hers, focusing on the feeling of letting go inside of her.

He had wanted to cum in her; to mark her… it was going to be a reminder for her that he has been the one who made her reach the edge that night. After that she could go back to Cody and live a farce of a happily ever after, but in her mind she was always going to remember that she was his for a while and that she enjoyed every minute of it.

With a growl he pushed into her one last time and pulled away from her lips. For a second he rested his forehead to hers and breathed in, enjoying the calm before the storm.

Beth… why did she have to play with him?

It would have been so easy to fall for her…

But it was what it was so he pulled completely away from her, turning around while gathering himself up, accommodating his still dripping manhood into his boxers and zipping his pants up. Back in his room he was going to need to take his underwear off and put them in his laundry bag, but that was for later.

Now it was this…

His body felt heavy and his legs wobbly, but even though he walked towards the door without giving her a glance. As he walked he was making a count in his mind to know how long it would take her to call him. She was a woman and whether she has been playing with him or not, women didn't like men to turn their backs on them after living something like that.

"Where are you going?"

And it had been four… he was hoping for a lower number…

Keeping his face neutral, Phil turned around and shrugged. "To my room, I already got what I wanted so I just need a shower and a good night rest to keep going."

Beth shook her head and frowned. She already had her pants up and he assumed that she put them back up while his back was to her. Now, she was going to need to put her underwear in her laundry bag as well, another reminder for her about what happened there. "What?"

Phil took a deep breath, forcing his eyes to remain in her confused ones. The look on her face was almost daunting enough to make him walk to her, kiss her and promise her that he was better than Cody; but he didn't, he stood his ground. "I gotta give this to you, Beth, you sure like to play difficult. It took me months but at the end I only needed the right moves to get you." He shrugged once more. "It was worth it, could have been sooner but you know, like they say, the wait makes it better."

Beth blinked, her face reflecting pure shock. It made him feel like the lowest scum in the face of the earth, but then he remembered how she had let him fuck her while the day before she has been with Cody playing the happy couple.

She was not what he thought she was and he was not going to be deceived again.

"You are not serious…"

"About what?" He said, crossing his arms up to his chest. "Leaving? Well, if you want a repeat I'm more than willing." He walked to her and circled her waist with his arm until she was pressed against him, his lips kissing her hard and punishing.

It only took her a second to push him away. "Get off." She hissed, her face flushed in anger and shame. "You are a…"

"A what, Beth, a jerk, a pig? You can call me whatever you want and I won't care, not when minutes ago you were moaning as I fucked you and…"

She didn't let him finish, she slapped him right across the face, making his face jerk with the impact. It stung; he was not going to deny it, she had one hell of a slap and maybe he deserved it.

"Get out." She hissed under her breath, her lips trembling with the intensity of her anger. "Get out of my room!"

Phil nodded, flashing her a dark smile that made the muscles of his face ache. Then he turned around, walked to the door and left…

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the nice reviews; I didn't expect much when I posted first chapter so I'm glad you liked it. I hope you like this one as well and as always, reviews are very appreciated ;)

**The Kill**

There was no satisfaction in revenge, no sense of fulfillment and definitely no rest for his troubled mind. That was what Phil Brooks was thinking as he moved his head from side to side, his eyes focused ahead of him as the world moved with continued speed all around him.

It was weird, he wasn't used to feel like that but as it turned out, the only result revenge left in him was that his brain was now in overload, carrying the burden of something very similar to regret.

He couldn't help it, it was just that in his self-inflicted solitude he's had plenty of time to think about what happened with Beth and his deduction was that he had plain and simple acted on an impulse, that he didn't consider things before doing them and that he acted in the heat of the moment.

Now as a result, his so called revenge ended up having the same effect as kicking a stone up a hill, he hit the target like he wanted but soon after the stone came rolling back to him to hit his face full force. The impact had been such that he was still licking his wounds.

But it was too late for regrets, he knew that very well. But as he stood in his dark corner he couldn't stop musing about how he should have thought on things before acting; because now that he had time to reflect on the whole scenario he couldn't stop thinking that if he had played his cards well, he could have ended up convincing Beth to leave Cody for good to be with him.

If he would have done that things could have played for his benefit and he wouldn't be in the dark place he was now. But he didn't do things differently, he did what he did and now the fact that he that didn't consider the repercussion of his acts was eating a hole though him, and now with a clear mind he could see the whole picture and he couldn't stop thinking that no woman that loved her boyfriend like Beth was supposed to love Cody could react to another man the way she reacted to him… of that there was no doubt in his mind.

It was all in the facts, that night Beth gave herself to him with such abandon that he couldn't stop thinking about it because never, not even in his wildest dream he would have imagined that getting to her could be so easy.

She has been like a fuse ready to get fired and when he lighted her up sparkles shot all over the place and magic was created. Sure, he had cornered her and acted like a savage animal devouring a prey but her resistance had been practically zero.

Everything that happened in that room she let it happen; she allowed him to kiss her, to taste her very essence and to have her right on the spot. That only told him, that even if her thing for him was just a game at least physically she wanted him just as he wanted her.

That was the only thing he could think of and the memory of her acceptance was apt to make his mind blow, because now that he knew how it felt to be with her he wanted her more than before.

He wanted all of her, her body, her mind… he wanted to have back what they had with the improvement of their friendship going a step further into intimacy. He wanted that even with the knowledge that she was back with Cody fucking Runnels.

That only made him feel even more angry with himself and that feeling only made him go back to that dark place where even when he wanted her, he also wanted to make her pay for what she did to him; it made him simmer in anger because even when she had played with him he knew that if she just as called him to order him to get his sorry ass back to her and apologize he would do it, in a second.

But she hadn't called and he was sure that she wouldn't do it; if there was something about her that he knew very well was that her pride was strong and that she was probably fuming by the way things ended that night.

Yeah, he was a hundred percent sure that she was angry while he was there, feeling rather sorry for himself.

He should have expected to feel that way; after all, before getting to feel how it was to meet her in the most intimate of acts he had been crazy about her… basically he still was so it was obvious that after their brief moment of passion it was going to be impossible to get her out of his mind.

She was absorbing every single second of his waking hours and almost a week after the episode took place she was still in his head.

He had tried to occupy himself with other matters but it was in vain, the memory of that night was very much permeated into his mind and there was not much he could do about it. He remembered everything, the feeling of her skin underneath his fingers, how it felt to have her pressed against him, her scent, the way the warmth of her body received him… the way he treated her after everything happened and especially the look in her face while he was being the biggest jerk in the planet.

So instead of finding relief in the fact than in some wicked way he ended up playing an upper hand in her games with him, Phil only felt a knot in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't leave him alone, a knot that time haven't lighten up.

Time only made it worse because the more he thought about it the more he was sure that he ruined what little chance he had with her, that there was no chance now for him to steal her away from Cody.

So yeah, Beth was all he could think of and she was also the reason why he was standing in the dark with his back resting against the wall and with the hopes of seeing her pass by. That's how pathetic she has reduced him into; he was even acting stalker-ish.

It was low… the lowest he had fallen but he needed the good dose of self-punishment that seeing her would provoke in him, it would help him pass his time until the next time he could see her.

So without moving his eyes from their spot, Phil thought that he chose a good place to stand; he was strategically waiting in a corner where he could get a glimpse of her hotel room door and yeah, she had to pass right in front of him to get in and he was waiting for that moment, waiting and waiting...

Earlier during the show he had evaded her like the plague, he knew that an encounter between them was going to be awkward and he cowardly tried to prevent it; but as the night went on his need to at least see her grew stronger until he couldn't control it… he just wanted a brief look at her face, she didn't even have to know about it…

And his moment came sooner than what he expected it because while he was submerged in thought he saw her pass by.

So there it was… she walked by so fast that he didn't even had time to take a good look at her so without thinking about it twice he stepped out of the shadows so his feet could follow her at a distance.

Now, his first thought as he looked her over was that she looked great as always. He particularly liked the way her long blonde hair was falling down her back in soft waves and sure, he liked even better the way her hips would move as she walked with secure steps forward; the second thought he had was that she didn't look upset in the sightless and really, why should she? She probably remembered that night as nothing more than an inconvenience and that thought right there clouded his remaining common sense.

Clenching his jaw until it hurt, the Chicago Native walked closer towards her. True, his intention had been only to see her, but now that she was there he needed to go to her and convince his conscience that he hadn't been wrong with her, that he had only played his cards before his turn and thus beating her at her own game.

He needed reality to slap him in the face once more with facts because the truth was that she wasn't who he thought she was and he couldn't forget that… he needed to get that into his skull.

"Isn't it a little too late for a 'lady' like you to be out of her room wandering alone? Or is it that you are looking for trouble?"

When he spoke, Beth took a quick look at him and then, without even flinching, she walked the rest of the way until she was standing in front of her door.

Phil was watching closely through eyes of steel, and as he watched he noticed that her only reaction for him was the icy-cold glance she gave him as soon as she took out the card key out of her handbag.

But that look only lasted a second, because when she found herself face to face with him her face changed to stoic and she turned from him to grab the handle of the door; apparently she wanted to flee the scene.

"What, not even a hello?" Phil asked in a dark husky whisper, resting his weight against the door and thus preventing her to open it. "After last time I thought that we were in a phase were we should greet each other more warmly."

At his words, the blonde Diva turned back to him, her eyes shooting daggers his way. "I'm in no mood for your games so why don't you leave me alone?" That was her response through clenched teeth.

The tattooed man chuckled, his games? Right… Clicking his tongue, he tilted his head to the side. "Go figure… anyway, I just…"

"I'm not joking, leave me alone, Punk."

At the way his former friend used his in-ring name to address him, the Straight Edge Superstar smiled darkly, the fire in his eyes glued the ice in hers. She looked like a beautiful trapped animal trying for an escape; her eyes menacing to freeze him to death, her lips pursed and her cheeks tinged with red while he, like a vile predator stood over her and slid one arm to her waist.

"Last time you were not so hostile with me, is it that I need to repeat what I did to get you to play nice?"

He saw anger take over her features and soon after her hand flew up at him; he caught it before it reached his face because if there was something he didn't want to feel again was a slap from her. So, wanting to prevent that from happening, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled it to her back, making her body press to him while she tried to push him away.

"I'm going to give you one second to get your hands off of me." Her voice was firm while he held her close enough to feel the soft fragrance of her perfume surrounding him… and while he got lost for a second in her scent she never took her eyes from his.

He shook himself back into reality. "Or what, Beth?" Instead of answering with words she tried to use her knee to punish him, to connect the bone to his groin. But his mind worked faster than her movements and he immobilized her by pressing even harder against her and pushing her legs apart so he could stand between them.

True, she was strong… but she wasn't stronger than him.

Gasping, Beth tried harder to get him off of her, using her free hand to push him away. But her efforts were futile, he didn't let her get away from him and he didn't intend to, he was stronger and he was using that for his advantage.

Now if truth be told, Phil didn't know why he was there and why he was doing what he was doing but he couldn't help it; he also couldn't help the urge in him to kiss her. It was just that having her all worked up and so close to him was awaking the instinct that made him act that night in her room.

Maybe he could do it… just a kiss… the previous encounter of their lips had left a bitter-sweet taste in him and he wanted to replace it.

Giving into the impulse, Phil used his free hand to grab Beth by the chin and force it up towards his, then once she was close enough he crushed his lips to hers and kissed her.

He wasn't nice about it, it was a punishing kiss and he knew it, but instead of changing his ways he plunged his tongue right pass her lips and pressed even harder into her, his body liking the way she felt struggling against him.

Beth fought him off like a wild cat until he had no choice but to release her lips and grunt. "Come on, I know you can be so much nicer than that."

"Why are you doing this?" Beth asked in a broken whisper while moving her head to the side, barely escaping his lips for another kiss.

It was the first time her voice faltered because of him and he froze right there in the spot, feeling the knot in his stomach get tighter than ever.

For a moment he thought she was as vulnerable as she looked in that moment and he was almost fooled; but as quickly as he thought that, she put the walls back all around her and she was now back at looking at him with her reproaching livid eyes.

"I'm doing this because I want you." He hissed angrily, pressing his forehead against hers. "Fuck it, Beth, I wanted everything with you, I would have given anything just for a chance and you…"

Without letting him finish, Beth shook her head and snorted bitterly. "And that's why you used me like you did? Don't try to trick me with your mind games, Phil; you fooled me once but I'll be damned if I let that happen again. You are obviously not the man I thought you were and it makes me sick just to think that I wasted my time with you."

"So I make you sick, uh?" He tightened his grip on her. "That's not the impression I got last time. Should I remind you how you truly felt? Moaning my name and…"

"Don't test me, Phil, you are stepping over the line."

"Yeah, well then don't try to turn things around here; you were the one playing games, leading me on to something that was never going to happen at the same time that you were getting back to Cody."

At those words, Beth quirked her lips and frowned. "Going back to Cody, are you out of your mind? I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

Clenching his teeth, Phil's eyes flickered. "I saw you kissing him and don't you try to deny it."

Lifting her head, the blonde looked at him right in the eye. "When did you see this?"

Pushing his lower lip with the tip of his tongue, Phil blew out a breath and blinked slowly. "This weekend, the two of you were together in Florida so don't try to say I'm wrong with this."

Beth blinked a few times and snorted again. "This weekend at FCW? I didn't kiss Cody… I don't even know what you are talking about."

Lies… she wanted him to feel confused but he had the picture to prove it so he reached for his phone and browsed for the image. He still had it in there, every time he was stupid enough to want to call her and make things better the image was there to remind him. "And what about this, I got this sent to me and it opened my eyes to see you the way you truly are." He said showing her the image, holding his breath as her eyes went half close to see the image.

For a moment the world was still, he was expecting her to confess that she had indeed been with Cody, kissing… it was the only way in his mind to justify his actions.

"Who send you this?"

"It doesn't matter, the fact is…"

"The fact is that this is an old picture; this was taken over a year ago when we were together. You were even there… in Belfast. Is that why you decided to play the big jerk on me, because an old picture? Phil, you more than anyone should have known that I wouldn't go back to him after everything he put me through, you more than anyone should have known that."

Phil looked at the picture, shaking his head. No… the picture had to be taken as recently as the past weekend because if it wasn't, that only meant that he screwed up and he screwed up royally…

Belfast… yeah, he has been there alright; but back then he wasn't into her so he didn't mind what she did and with whom did she did it; but she has been with Cody at that time so who knew?

And now that he thought about it, she could be saying the truth… after all Beth was nothing but proud to a fault and it wouldn't make sense that she went back to Cody after he cheated on her with another Diva.

Feeling his face burning and his heart shrinking, he dared to look up at her face. She looked pissed…

"Now get your hands off of me and leave me alone."

He did as she told him, his mind about to explode with a thousand questions and the image of the look on her face when he treated her like nothing more than a slut gnawing at his brain. He did that to Beth… Beth who was nothing but kind and sweet and he just…"Beth…"

"Save it, Phil, I don't want to hear it."

With that said, she pushed him out of her way and after opening the door she got into the room and slammed the door shut, leaving him behind with his regrets and his shame…

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, are you okay?"

As soon as she heard that question being tossed her way, the blonde WWE Diva who was sitting comfortably over one of the make-up chairs licked her front-upper teeth and shrugged, her baby blue eyes moving up so she could stare at the ceiling absentmindedly.

She wasn't surprised at the sudden interruption, after all, Natalya has been talking to her nonstop and she was just there, sitting with a blank expression in her face and without paying any kind of attention to her.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Her tone when saying that has been low and calm and to anyone who happened to be listening, her words would sound as if the subject was of no importance to her.

And it really wasn't, with the amount of time she has dedicated to the gym as of late, it was a miracle that she could still walk on her own two feet.

But training hard was her escape and it helped her to keep her mind clear; with that being said, there was no doubt in her mind that tomorrow she was going to do the same routine or who knew, maybe one more hardcore.

"Well you look tired… and pale, have you talked with Phil?"

Rolling her eyes at the mention of that name, Beth threw her head back and grunted. She just didn't know how Nattie was going to understand that she and Phil were no longer friends and that she didn't want to hear his name being tossed in every conversation they had.

It was like this, if they went shopping, Natalya would ask about his whereabouts; if they were at catering, she would mention that she saw him walk by… it was just… ugh, after two weeks of the same she was really starting to get pissed off.

Not that it bothered her much, it was more annoying than bothersome; after all, the page in her life's book dedicated to the mentioned man has been torn, ripped to pieces and then burnt.

Her friend Natalya, who was sitting in the chair across from her snorted, and even when her eyes were not on her she could feel her shifting where she sat. "I figured you haven't. Beth, you and Phil are friends and a friendship can't be broken over some stupid argument. Take us by example, we argue about little things all the time and that doesn't make us less friends."

Beth sighed loudly and glanced at the third generation Diva. The last thing she wanted to talk with her or with anyone else was Phil and with her constant questions, Natalya was pushing it too far already. "It's not the same."

The other half of the Divas of Doom blinked a couple of times and placed the tip of her forefinger against her lips. "Why not?"

"Well… because it isn't, okay? Can we now please drop this? I swear that every time I hear his name my blood pressure gets higher."

"Then you should get some medication for that because I told him that you wanted to talk to him and let me see… hmm, he should be on his way right now."

"You did what?" Beth asked in a gasp, the intensity of her blue eyes lingering over Natalya for a second before moving back to the door."

"Hey, settle your tea kettle. I just thought that since you've been in a rotten mood since whatever happened between you two happened, that it would be best if you talked things with him. That's why I told him to come and meet you here and since he must be arriving very soon, I'm out." With that said, the younger woman walked to the door, opened it and turned to her. "By the way, if your mood doesn't improve with this talk, then find another person to travel with. I mean it,"

For a few seconds, Beth stood still, staring at the mirror in front of her as her mind processed what Natalya just told her.

No, no, no- Natalys was very wrong if she thought that she was going to have a talk with Phil, oh no, no, no! There was no way she was going to do that.

So, refusing to be trapped in that situation, the New Yorker got to her feet with the intention of grabbing her things and leave not only the locker room but the building altogether.

Yeah, it was true that the show hadn't even begun but who cared? She wasn't even scheduled to appear anywhere near that ring so her presence was not required.

But before she could take a step away from the chair, the door opened and Natalya was back in, only that she wasn't alone, Phil was with her that time.

"Come in, I promise you she doesn't bite. Anyway, it's so good seeing you and wish I could stay and catch up but I have places to go and things to do, you know how it is. But go in and get comfortable, Beth will take care of you in a second."

Phil nodded and smiled, his eyes automatically focusing on Beth as Nattie waved them goodbye.

At the situation unfolding right in front of her, Beth closed her eyes briefly and sat back down; taking a deep breath while Phil walked into the room to take the chair Natalya has been sitting in.

Now, she wouldn't say that as a rule she allowed things to beat her down so easily, but if she would have known that Phil was going to be right in front of her that evening, she wouldn't have showed up at work.

She would be fined for that, but right in that moment she didn't care.

"I got a call that you wanted to see me." He said, his voice even but tentative.

"I didn't, but apparently Natalys had this crazy idea that you and I need to talk." She said courtly, never lifting her eyes off the manicured fingers as she inspected them. "Sorry you wasted your time by coming."

Phil didn't answer but neither did he get to his feet to leave the locker room like she was expecting him to do; and it wasn't until a full minute passed by that he finally spoke. "It was not a waste of time; I actually have wanted to talk to you for a while."

"About what?" She asked coldly, lifting her face so she could look at him in the eye. He was looking back at her, a look of pure concentration consuming the olive green of his eyes.

The way he was looking at her made her want to look away, but she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction, oh no.

"About us."

At those words, Bet shook her head and lifted an eyebrow. "I think I made it very clear that I don't want to talk to you about anything."

"I know; and I think I've granted your wishes for quite some time; now it's time for us to talk."

"You should keep your talk to yourself, indefinitely." She replied, pursing her lips as her eyes remained lost in his stare. "Anyway, I think that would be all, have a good day."

"I'm sorry." He said, and as soon as the words left his lips, Beth looked up to the ceiling once again and breathed in. "I know a sorry won't cut it but I just need to tell you how genuinely sorry I am about everything that happened."

At that Beth snorted, shaking her head…

"I was wrong, I let myself be carried away and, and I know I have no excuse that would make this right, but…"

"No there isn't." She said, interrupting him and looking back at him, her eyes cold as ice. "Phil, you betrayed my trust… I…" She snorted again, a turmoil of emotions that she thought vanished resurfacing deep within her. "I trusted you and look at what you did. You played with me, you used me… and now you come here thinking that apologizing will change things?"

"I'm not saying that it will change things nor do I expect it to do so, but I needed to come here and tell you this face to face. I know I was wrong and there is not a single day I don't spend regretting the way I acted. You were the most genuine thing I had in my life and I ruined it big time. I know that what I did was despicable and like I told you, nothing I can say will justify it; but Beth… God it was just that I was just so blind with jealousy that I wasn't myself… not only were you my best friend but the woman I wanted to be with… I still want you to be that woman."

With her jaw clenching, Beth looked back to her hands while working on her breathing. As she did that, she could feel his eyes burning a hole through her and she shook her head.

No, she didn't want to talk back to him or to let those feelings she had buried within herself come out, but it was hard not to do so with him there saying those things.

"You know me, you know that I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't because I totally lost it."

"I don't know you, I thought I did but I was wrong. As it turned out everything I thought you to be was an illusion."

"Don't say that, before that night everything I said or did I meant. Come on Beth…" He said, his voice almost pleading. "I don't want to doubt that."

"I am in all my right to doubt it; I mean look at us, Phil, not only I didn't know you but we can say that you didn't know me either, not if you thought I was playing with you while I was with Cody. As I see it were never truly friends"

"Of course we were-"

"No we weren't, and if you really considered me to be your friend you should have come to me and talk whatever was bothering you instead of doing what you did. Do you even know how I felt that day?" She asked, chuckling as she felt her eyes watering at the memory. "You made me feel like the world's cheapest slut; you made me feel used and betrayed by the person I cared the most." She hissed through clenched teeth, unable to stop a lone single tear to slide down her cheek. But she wiped at it, angrily. "Friends don't do that."

On his part, Phil lowered his head and ran his hands through his hair, and while Beth blinked any other unwanted tear to add to her shame he stood up and walked to her.

Beth watched him, her clouded eyes following him until he crouched down in front of her and grabbed her hands. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, bringing her hands to his lips. "I genuinely hate myself for making you feel like that, I don't deserve you, I never did."

"It's not fair. Phil, you can't just come here saying those things and expect me to forgive you just like that." Her voice trembled when she spoke the words and she wished her hands were free so she could wipe at her eyes.

"I know." He mumbled into her hands.

They remained like that for a while, Phil breathing into her skin and occasionally kissing her wrists and hands while Beth just looked at the top of his head.

It truly wasn't fair. Just over three weeks ago she would have done anything for that man, anything; but right in that very moment she couldn't bring herself to forgive him; even when a hidden part of her wanted nothing but to take his face in her hands, lift it up and look deep into the depths of his eyes to start all over again… but she just couldn't.

That night he made her feel vulnerable and exposed and after her break up from Cody she had sworn to herself that she just couldn't allow anyone to make her feel like that.

"I think you better go now." She whispered, biting her trembling lips as he lifted his face to look at her.

As he looked at her she noticed that his eyes were full of something she has seen just once, the night he found out that the picture he has received wasn't what he thought it was; they were full of regret, hurt… and something deeper she couldn't quite decipher.

But before she could put her finger on it he lowered his gaze and breathed deeply.

"I always cared about you, I know that's hard to believe now but I don't want you to feel like I never did. I cared and I always will." With that said he stood up and made his way to the door.

Beth watched him, his walk a slow precession that lasted an eternity; but when he got to the door and opened it she realized that it hasn't been that long, her mind had just stretched the moment to make it seem longer.

Once at the door, he turned around and stared at her. "Goodbye, Beth." After saying that he turned around and left, leaving the door half open as she stared at it. Then, taking in a deep breath she closed her eyes and forced her mind to clear up…

It took her a while to achieve that, and just when she could say that she was calm and that no insane part of her wanted to stand up and go after him, she opened her eyes and looked to the door… there was no one there, just the memory of something that was no more. "Goodbye, Phil."

TBC?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: If there's a thing about my characters that you should know, is that I always make them have flaws; sometimes it's nothing out of the ordinary and sometimes its big enough to send you in a rage. Overall, my muses are not perfect, I portray them like that because that's the way the human nature works, life is not black and white, not it is pink; everyone make mistakes and even though some of those mistakes are hard to overlook, we have to deal with them and their consequences. Also, keep in mind that this is only a story.

Anyway, this takes place several months after the last chapter. Enjoy ;)

The Kill

The house was quiet. The only sound her ears could detect was that of the rain softly knocking on the crystal panes of her living room windows and as she sat in the dark, breathing in the silence and hugging her favorite blanket to her chest, Beth couldn't help but to stare absentmindedly out the window.

She liked it when it rained, not many people knew that about her but in her mind there was just something oddly romantic about it that she always found appealing to all her senses. The scent of it, the cool breeze it would lift in the air so it could swirl like a lover's caress against her skin, the way it would clean everything it touched to wash it away…

She just liked everything about it and shocking as it may sound even to some of those who didn't really know her that well, she would give away a sunny day just to be snuggled in her sofa watching the rain fall.

It was like in an old saying she once heard, anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain. Of course, that didn't mean that she was going to walk through the back door and step outside to get drenched while dancing like a lunatic; with her luck that would probably make her catch a pneumonia or worst, she could get hit by lighting.

Shaking her head while her lips curved into the phantom of a smile at the thought of her unusual pessimist behavior, Beth breathed in and snuggled against her blanket, thinking not for the first time that instead of sitting there she should take the little precious time she had for herself and sleep it off.

Ah, but it wasn't that late and she wasn't sleepy; the last time she checked the hour the clock said it was ten minutes to eight o'clock so it was still early… even when it felt like it was past midnight.

Not that the hour mattered; time to sleep was too precious to waste in things like watching the rain fall in the dark so she should really move her behind out of her sofa and go straight to bed.

It wasn't like she had anything better to do anyway, the little amount of social life that she used to have was dead and she wasn't in the mood of watching TV. In her mind she already treated herself by getting a long and warm bath and that was as good as it was going to get for her. Sad but true.

So yeah, she should get some sleep because she would probably have to wake up in an hour or two and then God only knew when she would have another chance to get some rest.

Thinking about that but too comfortable to get up to her feet and drag herself towards her bedroom, the pretty blonde clicked her tongue to her cheek and considered what would happen if she went to the kitchen instead and fixed for herself a huge mug of hot chocolate, would it keep her awake longer?

Before she could decide whether to do that or not, her phone started to ring and thinking that it was her mom to check on her, she picked up in a second.

"Hello." She answered, deep inside hoping that her mom would keep it simple because seriously, even though she loved her to death, the combination of her sister and Natalya calling her six times a day to check on her was getting a bit annoying. But for a few extended seconds her wish was kept unanswered because only silence came out of the other line. "Hello?"

"I'm outside, let me in."

As soon as she heard that voice and the cold tone that accompanied it, Beth felt her heart shrink to the size of a peanut inside her chest and she had to fight hard against the urge of hanging up and pray for him to go away. After all, all the lights of her house were turned off, her car was in the garage and there was no noise that could make him think that there was someone inside the house.

Who knew? Maybe she could refrain from hanging up on him and just tell him that she wasn't there, that he would have to wait for her to come back from her indefinite vacations in Fiji or something.

Now Phil… long months had gone by since the last time she spoke to him or even saw his face and really, with time she has been so sure that the mere tone of his voice would never affect her in any possible way… but now that he was there, a series of unwanted memories started to hit her full force…

"Look, this is not a good time-" She said in a low whisper as she lifted up her right hand to run it through her hair. And it wasn't… she didn't think a good time would ever exist for this.

"Open the door right now or I swear I'll come back with a court order first thing in the morning."

Biting hard on her lips, Beth shook her head and drew in a deep breath. No, she knew he couldn't come back with a court order that would force her to open her door to him; sure, he could get one against her but not so he could enter; besides, for him to get such a thing would take him months.

And she could make it hard for him to do so, so hard that he wouldn't even believe it…

But at the same time that a wicked part of her urged her to do just that, another one was telling her that if she did things that way everything would only get worse and that she couldn't do that without dragging her name through the mud. So, using the rational part of her brain she closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "I… give me a minute."

Getting up to her feet with an eerie calm she wasn't feeling and with her heart beating frantically inside her chest, Beth made the slow progress to her door, moving one foot in front of the other as if she was walking the green mile. She did it without wanting to; feeling her hands trembling as she desperately clung to her blanket.

Once standing in front of the wooden barrier that separated her from the man outside, the Buffalo resident held her breath and extending her arm she grabbed the knob and opened the door.

Now, the first thing she noticed was that Phil was there alright and for some reason it came into her mind that she has lived that moment before. It was like a déjà vu and the closest thing she could remember was that night so many months ago when he knocked on her hotel room late at night to start the progress of their fallout.

He even had the same dark expression taking over his features and the intensity of his olive green eyes was scorching. It was almost the same as that night, only that this time she knew what was with him and this time she knew what she could expect from him.

"Where is she?" He asked, but not even waiting for her to say or do something he just stepped into the house and started looking around. He did it without giving her more than a passing glance.

"Phil, just… wait." Beth called out for him once he was as far as the stairs.

But he didn't listen and just as if he has been there countless of times before, he went straight upstairs.

"What do you think you are doing? You can't come in here like this… Phil!" Taken out of her trance by this sudden invasion to her house, Beth rushed after him, watching as he checked room after room until he came upon with the one he was looking for.

Once there, he walked inside and all Beth could do was watch from the door as he approached the crib to look at the sleeping baby resting inside of it. For a moment that felt like an eternity, he just stood there and as he observed the eight weeks old creature that definitely had not only his hair color but most of his features as well, she closed her eyes and took in a deep long breath.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Phil asked through clenched teeth and even thought she wasn't watching she was sure that he was now looking at her.

But she didn't have a good rational answer for that; she didn't tell him because she didn't want to and because in all honesty, she hoped he would never find out. But what could she say, this was a small world and apparently news traveled fast.

"Fuck it, Beth." He hissed angrily and at the closeness of his voice she opened her eyes to find him there, two steps away from her and by the look on his face very, very mad. "Did you really think I wasn't going to find out? I mean seriously, why the fuck you didn't tell me?"

Tensing her jaw, Beth looked up at him defiantly and settled her eyes on his. "You are going to wake her up."

Without wasting a second, Phil grabbed her by the arm and not too gently he made her step back until they were at a safe distance from the baby's room. "So tell me now, why did I have to find through another person that you just gave birth to a child of mine?"

"Oh is that what you heard?" Natalya… it had to be her… "I see… but what makes you think she is yours? I am certain you didn't hear anyone saying the baby was yours and besides, wasn't I the slut who liked playing around with poor fools like you? For all you know she could be anyone's." Beth spat back out of bitterness. "Maybe she is Cody's."

"Oh I see," Phil said in an un-amused chuckle. "So is this how you get back at me for what I did? God Beth, I apologized about that and you were the one who didn't want to hear a word of it. I mean yes I understand if you didn't want to accept it, but that doesn't give you the right to keep something like this from me."

Pursing her lips and crossing her arms up to her chest, the former WWE Diva lowered her head and shrugged. She didn't keep the baby away from him as a way to get back at him… at least she didn't think so.

Did she have good motives to do so? Probably not, but as soon as she found out she was pregnant she decided to keep the baby's father identity to herself. Sure, there was some talk among her family and friends, but when the subject was approached she would say nothing at all.

As for Phil… well, it wasn't like she was keeping contact with him. She hadn't even heard of him since the night he went to her apologizing and even though she was sure that she could contact him if she really wanted to, she decided not to do it.

It was just that she didn't really think he would find out because it wasn't as if her pregnancy was news that broke all over the place; her family knew it, her friends knew it and Vince and Stephanie knew it. But because she found out about it when she was having what she though was a severe case of an upset stomach, she just decided to graciously step back and cover it with a fabricated report that she was injured and out of action for a while.

Stephanie McMahon helped her with that, but no one else knew about it.

People just assumed she took longer to recuperate and she left it at that. She sold her flat and moved somewhere she could raise her daughter in peace.

"Do you realize that if I call my lawyers I can take the custody for myself?"

Lifting her head to him and fixing her stormy blue eyes into his own green orbs, Beth felt something very close to ire get hold of all her senses.

Was he menacing to take her baby away? If that was it he was on for a surprise because she would fight him with everything she had and then she would move out of the country and take the baby with her before he could even get a DNA test that would prove his paternity. "Is that a menace?"

"It's a warning, Beth, a warning for you to keep inside your mind so when I tell you what I want you to do, you'll do it without complaining."

Shaking her head, Beth blinked a couple of times as she watched him. "You are a jerk." See, this was the reason she didn't want anything to do with the man. He wasn't what she once thought he was… not even by a mile; he was basically worse than Cody.

"No no no… don't try to turn this on me because you know you were the one doing things wrong here, Beth. So, why don't you pack your things and the baby's? We have a long way ahead of us and I want to start now."


	5. Chapter 5

Searing with anger…

That was an expression that Phil Brooks was very familiar with and as he opened the door of the hotel room he just got, jaw painfully clenched and lips set in a hard line that spoke volumes of his sour mood, he was trying his very best not to let that anger sprout out of him in huge waves.

It was hard, he wasn't going to lie about it and he was actually surprised at the auto-control he has inflicted upon himself; because if there was something he really wanted in that moment was to release that anger, to take it out of his system so he could be done feeling like that.

But the thing was that he definitely didn't want to take his anger out on the woman walking behind him and that was why he was refraining. Sure, she was the only reason he was feeling like he was feeling but in all honesty, he had to admit that everything that was happening was because at some point he wasn't able to control his anger and in a wicked way he took it against her.

Not that he was justifying her, not at all. The sole memory of what she did to him was enough to set his blood to a boiling point and he was really, really mad at her.

She basically wanted to rob him out of the opportunity of knowing his daughter and that wasn't something that was easy for him to overlook. She hid from him during her entire pregnancy, she disappeared out of the map to give birth and if it wasn't because one good day he decided to put his pride aside and ask about her, he would have never found out that she had a daughter with him.

Now, that the baby was his daughter wasn't exactly what he was told nor did he get a call out of a sudden saying that he was a dad; no… he got the information when he 'casually' asked Nattie about Beth. The answer came in an excited yelp, the woman told him that the new mom was doing great with the baby and that he should give her a call or something.

That right there had left him speechless and he remembered how he felt all the blood of his body draining down to his feet; he has said nothing… all he could think about was how was it possible that Beth had a baby and he didn't even know about it?

The answer to that was easy; after all he hadn't heard much about the woman since the last time they spoke as he decided to grant her wish of him leaving her alone. That has been almost a year ago.

Now, he never wanted so much time to pass by without knowing from her, but he did it because he was very aware that what he did to her was wrong and wicked and he most definitely didn't deserve to be forgiven…

So he tried to move on, he put all his focus on his career and that was it. Sure, he thought about his estranged friend all the time and he wondered about how she was doing. But even though he took notice of her long absence, he never had the guts to call her or even ask about her.

At least not until that day; the day he found out that she had a baby.

Probably taking notice of his shock, the Natalya had stopped talking about Beth, her baby and the new house she bought and she just frowned; for a moment they just stared at each other and Phil stood there, making a mental countdown.

So Beth had a two months old baby girl… resting to forty weeks of any normal pregnancy and that was it; if his math wasn't wrong, the baby was conceived around the same time he and Beth were together.

As realization hit him and probably Beth's friend as well, Phil has turned his head to the side and through half closed lids he stared down at the woman in front of him. "Where did you say she moved to?"

The rest was history, he managed to make the woman give him the address with the promise that he would never tell Beth that she was the one who gave it to him and he took the first flight to her.

Now he was there, walking into a hotel room after spending the last three hours of his life between waiting for Beth to pack her things, driving to the airport and booking them into the next flight to Chicago.

Unfortunately, the flight wasn't until seven forty-five in the morning and since it was just after midnight, they had to wait.

Breathing in and exhaling through parted lips, the WWE wrestler stepped into the room and turned on the lights, his head turning to the side so he could take a look at the woman who just walked in by him, heading straight to the bed so she could place the sleeping baby right in the middle of the mattress.

Once the baby was set, Beth stood by the bed, folded her arms to her chest and sighed. "Is this why you took her out of her crib in the middle of the night, so you could have her in this hotel room?" She asked, eyeing him defiantly.

As he stood by the door, Phil noticed that with her lips pursed petulantly and her eyes shooting poisonous darts directly at him, Beth was looking as mad as he was feeling.

Right in that moment, he wanted to tell her that if it wasn't for the fact that she hid the baby from him in the first place, he wouldn't be doing that. But he didn't say that; he didn't say anything because he knew that his words would only make things worse and that was the last thing they both needed.

So, biting hard on his tongue, he closed the door, walked in and put the baby's bag over the desk.

"Why do you want us to go to Chicago?"

"I have a lawyer there," He said in a hiss, walking closer until he was standing right in front of her.

At his words, Beth snorted bitterly and shook her head. "No, forget it. You are crazy if you think I'll let you take her away from me."

Swallowing down and meeting her icy-cold stare with one of his own, the tall man blinked slowly and tilted his head to the side.

Without responding, he watched her for a while, thinking that this was not the woman he has been crazy about. The Beth he used to know would never look at him with so much anger and hurt in her eyes and she would never hide something like a baby from him.

But that was how it was now; things had changed… and if they had changed was because of him.

"I don't want to take her away from you, Beth."

Pursing her lips without taking her eyes away from him, the blonde woman arched an eyebrow. She seemed a bit confused by what he said and for some reason that bothered him. "Then why are you taking me to a lawyer?"

"I want to inscribe her as my daughter. I'm going to assume you already have her birth certificate and that it doesn't say Brooks anywhere in the paper; I want to change that. I also want visitations and I want to take her home whenever I feel like it…"

Shaking her head no, Beth blinked a couple of times. "She's too little to be traveling back and forth."

Licking his upper front teeth, Phil eyed the former WWE Diva down. "I have rights, Beth… I just fucking found out about her and I'm… I missed enough already as it is and I'm not willing to miss more just because you are still mad at me."

"Phil… don't, you've never wanted children nor do you like them so this sudden interest sounds flat to my ears."

"She's my daughter!"

Shrugging indifferently, Beth blew out a breath. "I'm not going to Chicago with you, forget it."

"Of course you will." Phil said sure of himself. She was going with him even if he had to drag her to the plane and tie her down to her seat; even if he had to menace her once again with taking the baby away. "Look, I don't want to settle this in a tribunal so let's just…"

"Of course you do! You already put a lawyer on me."

"I'm not putting a lawyer on you." He said, trying to reason with her on good terms. "And I definitely don't want to take the baby from you; what I want is to settle this like it's supposed to be done. I get my rights and you'll get yours. This way you'll also get child support for the baby."

"She doesn't need your money; she's been doing fine, without you and she will continue to be so."

"For the love of God, Beth; why do you have to be so damn stubborn?" He hissed not to wake the baby and then he chuckled. "You are acting as if I was the bad guy here and you know I'm not."

To that Beth said nothing and wanting to change the pace of their argument for the sake of their baby and for their old friendship, the Chicago native took a step closer to her and placed his hand to the back of her head.

She didn't protest the touch and sighing out in relief, Phil tilted her head up towards him.

Beth… this was the woman that has taken all his sanity away. The one that he was mad with and the one he couldn't stop thinking about even though.

How come he messed up things so bad with her?

"Look, I know you are still mad at me and I don't blame you. I was a jerk and I don't expect you to forgive me. And yeah, I'm mad at you for keeping this away from me… but now we have a baby for God's sake so why don't we try to get along and let the past stay in the past?"

Blinking, Beth chewed on her bottom lip and then she closed her eyes. "I can't Phil, not after what happened."

The tattooed man took that opportunity to lean a bit closer and he just pressed his lips to hers. He didn't know why he did it, he just saw her so close and before he could think about it he was kissing her.

Almost a year… a long time had passed by since the last time he had kissed her and even though this was just a light touch of lips, he found that her lips were still as soft as he remembered.

And she wasn't pushing away. Sure, she wasn't pulling him closer or kissing him back but she wasn't pushing him off.

"Beth-" He whispered against her lips and breaking out of her trance, the blonde moved her face from him and stepped back.

Phil watched as she turned around towards the bed to check on the baby. "We'll go with you. But this won't change anything between us. We'll get her last name changed and you'll get your visitations but that's it. She won't be traveling back and forth so if you want you want to see her, you'll have to come to New York until she's older. That's final and not debatable. Also, you kiss me once again and you will regret it more than anything."

Licking his lips and tasting her lips gloss on them, Phil nodded. "Alright, that's good… for now…"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Beth woke up to the distinct feeling that she was lost. It was a weird feeling, one that was very similar to the way she would wake up from a nightmare when she was a little girl. Heart beating hard and unsteadily against her ribs, sleepy blue eyes opening abruptly only to find darkness surrounding her and her body acting on an impulse and sitting upright over the bed.

It was as if her own mind had forced her out of her sleep to warn her that something was wrong… something that she still couldn't quite get… something that was missing.

Lifting her shaking hands up against her forehead, Beth realized that she was disoriented so running her fingers through her blonde hair, she took a look around. By then her eyes were getting used to the darkness and while she looked around, only one thought started to dance in her mind.

She was not in the comforts of her own bedroom.

Blinking slowly and dropping her hand to her lap, the former WWE Diva pursed her lips, her mind running without a steady course until she finally remembered the events of the previous night.

Phil has gone to her house; somehow he found out about the baby and he went straight to Buffalo to look for her. Back in her house, he basically forced her to go with him with the menace that he could take the baby away from her and finding herself between the blade and the wall, she had no choice but to accept.

Now she was in a hotel, waiting for a flight to Chicago so they could go and do whatever it was that he wanted them to do.

Closing her fist around the blanket and her mood getting sour at the memory of everything her former friend had put her through, the New Yorker turned to the side to check on her daughter.

Now that her mind was clear, she remembered that she had put the sleeping two months old by her side and right between a few pillows so she wouldn't roll over.

She did it because there was no crib in the hotel to put her in, deeming that it was the safest way for them to spend the rest of the night.

But when she turned around, she didn't see her baby. The pillows were there and the pink blanket that has been covering was there, but not the baby.

Swallowing down a gasp and feeling as if her chest constricted hard against her heart, Beth jumped to her feet. The first thought to hit her mind was that her daughter rolled over and fell off the bed, but when she walked around the queen size bed she didn't see her.

For a second she stood frozen, her complexion getting pale and her breathing stopping.

It was impossible for the baby to roll over the pillows like that, so what if Phil took her away? What if he waited until she fell asleep to steal her baby and take off without her…

"No,"

Turning on bare feet towards the door and feeling desperation starting to consume her inside out, the blonde woman walked out of the master bedroom. Her intention: finding Phil and her daughter even if she had to walk all the way to Chicago.

And by God that if he pulled that one on her, she was going to kill him with her own hands.

Fortunately, she didn't have to take such a long walk nor did she have to plan on ways to kill him, because as soon as she stepped into the small living room of the junior suite Phil got for them, he saw them.

The WWE current champion was sitting over the sofa and Aubrey, their daughter was happily sleeping against his chest.

Breathing out a sigh of relief but at the same time feeling a rush of anger run down her spine, Beth blinked rapidly and walked towards him.

"What do you think you are doing?" She hissed angrily, making him look up to her before she helped herself to take the baby away from him and into her arms.

Then, without even giving him time to reply, she turned around and walked back into the room.

She couldn't explain it, but as she hugged Aubrey to her chest she felt the sudden urge to cry, hit him and tell him a thing or two before taking off never to be seen again.

"What's with you now?"

Breathing in and carefully placing the baby in the middle of the mattress with the pillows surrounding her, Beth wiped at her eyes and then turned to him. He was standing by the door, his tall figure blocking the way out.

Watching him made her feel even angrier and she had to walk close to him so her words wouldn't wake the baby up. "Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me? Never."

Lifting his hands in the air, Phil snorted. "Do what? Feed my daughter and put her back to sleep so you could rest the whole night?" He asked a bit too loud and then remembering himself he took a deep breath and swallowed down. "She was crying. I couldn't sleep so I heard her and because you were passed out I decided to take care of her myself."

"You should have waked me up." She said defiantly, her lips pursing and her eyes critically scanning him over. "I'm her mother and…"

"And I'm her father, so I think I should be able to fix a bottle and put her back to sleep without you freaking the hell out." He whispered angrily, interrupting her while folding his arms up to his chest.

"Her father," She said while nodding. "You are right you are her father, but up until last night you didn't even know about her so next time you feel like acting like a good father, wake me up so I can take good care of her instead."

"Well I didn't know about her because you made sure not to mention it to me. If it was up to you, I wouldn't even know right now."

"You know, I don't need to do this and I don't need to go to Chicago with you. I'm out."

With that said, Beth turned around; but before she could take a step away from him he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to face him.

"Are you going to punish me your whole life about what happened?" He asked, his tone serious as his eyes delved deep into hers.

"I'm not punishing you."

"Of course you are; I can't even feed her without you thinking that I will choke her with her bottle or that I will drop her in her head."

Refusing to feel guilty over the fact that she thought the man kidnapped the baby earlier on, Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Phil, she's only two months old and let's face it, you don't know anything about how to take care of a baby so of course I'm going to get worried. That she has your DNA doesn't mean that you will automatically know what she wants or needs."

"Yeah, I can get that. But you were not worried, you were mad and it all goes back to what happened between us."

Opening her eyes, Beth pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "Okay, I'll say it. I'm still mad at you and that you apologized doesn't mean that I will all of a sudden forget what you did."

"Beth-"

"Save it, Phil, because quite honestly I don't want to hear it." She said closing her eyes once again and feeling tired of the whole thing already. She has spent too much of her time resenting him and she didn't want to waste another second on him.

"I won't save it; Look, I made a mistake and I know it. But if you would only-"

"Only what, forgive and forget? I can't do that. What happened back there you did it knowing about the consequences. You did it knowing how I felt towards you and you did it knowing how much it would hurt me; I can't forget that."

Lowering his eyes, Phil shook his head and pursed his lips; however, he said nothing. He looked like a little kid being scolded and unable to help it, her mind went back to the time she considered the man to be her closest friend.

Back to that time, she would have done anything for him, but all that changed in the blink of an eye and he was the only one to blame.

"You say you made a mistake, well I did too. I trusted you and I cared for you and look at what happened; your little games of empty vengeance forced me out of a career that I loved so trusting you is something I won't do again."

Sure, she loved her daughter more than anything else in the world, but if it would have been her choice, she wouldn't have brought a little person into this world in such a messed up situation.

Not that it was his entire fault, she gave him the freedom to do with her as he pleased back in that night; she didn't stop to think about protection and well, the consequences of that carelessness was sleeping a few paces away from them both.

"I never wanted us to end like this." He said, lifting his face to hers and sliding his hand down her arm.

To that, Beth stepped back and pulled her hand away. "Me neither, but it is what it is." Shrugging, she pushed the door closed in his face and then turned around to rest her back against it.

For a while she remained like that, imagining him at the other side, pressing his forehead against the door as well.

"Me neither…" She whispered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath…


	7. Chapter 7

When Phil knocked on the door of Beth's house in Buffalo, he was a hundred percent sure that he wasn't going to be well received.

It was the same old tale every week; every Tuesday morning he would fly straight from wherever he was in the world to visit his daughter and even though his estranged friend would let him inside the house, she would lead him straight towards the backyard where she had a small gazebo that came to be the place where she would bring the baby to him.

That has been their routine for the last nine months and even though he was used to it, it still bothered him to no end.

Yeah, he could understand that she was still carrying a grudge against him and all that, but he has been hoping that with time she would warm up to him as a father and that once that happened, that she would allow him more liberties when it came to Aubrey.

For instance, he hadn't been able to take the baby to Chicago since the day he dragged them both and even though he has asked many times, she just wouldn't allow him that privilege.

According to her, Aubrey was still too young to travel alone without her mother, and at Phil's response that she could go as well, she would refuse without giving it a real thought.

It was frustrating to a certain extent because that only meant that with the exception of his younger sister who took a flight to Buffalo with him a couple of months ago to meet Aubrey, the rest of his close ones hadn't been able to meet the almost one year old baby as of yet.

His only solace was that Beth was going to celebrate the baby's birthday in three weeks and when he asked, she told him that he could invite his friends if he wanted to.

That was a moment everyone in Chicago have been waiting for and even Colt promised to go. Ah, but the most exited were his sisters and Natalie and for the occasion, they had brought a bunch of gifts for the baby. It was ridiculous, really… but he couldn't wait either.

Blowing out a breath, he knocked again. He knew Beth was there, before boarding his flight he texted her that he would be there around noon and she texted him back with her mandatory 'okay'.

That was another thing, they barely talk. When he was on the road he would text her occasionally to know about the baby and of course, he would also inform her the date and the hour when he would be coming to visit.

That has a settlement they made through their lawyers; he could visit whenever he wanted to, just as long as he would let her know with time.

But other than that, their interaction was minimal and they only talked one on one when he was in her backyard and that wasn't much anyway.

Knocking again and a bit harder, Phil narrowed his eyes. It was weird that Beth hadn't answer as of yet and he wondered if everything was alright. But then Beth opened the door, and even thought she was standing right in front of him, that didn't mean that he stopped wondering if things were alright.

That was because Beth wasn't looking so good, her hair was pulled up in a messy bun that was menacing to come undone at any given time, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glazy. Overall she didn't look quite like herself.

"Are you alright?"

Turning on her heels and not minding his words of concern, Beth walked inside the house and sat over a sofa in the living room. "Aubrey's in the play pen." She said, resting her head against the back of her seat and closing her eyes. "She's fuzzy. All she wants to do is crawl all over the place and eat everything, when I put her in there she started throwing a tantrum."

Walking closer, Phil looked into the play pen and indeed, he saw Aubrey standing there and peeking out to him. She did look kind of fuzzy, her eyes were glazy as her mom's, her little nose was red and there were dried tears in her cheeks.

"Momma." The girl mumbled extending her arms and Phil picked her up.

"Hey there," He whispered, bringing her closer and pressing his lips to her forehead. "What's that about you throwing a tantrum on mommy?" After saying that, he ticked her belly.

Giggling and showing him all of her four teeth, Aubrey mumbled something he didn't understand.

"Right, right…" He said, looking at Beth. Now that he was closer, he also noticed that there were dark circles under her eyes… clear sign that she was either tired or sick. "Why don't you go to bed, I'll keep an eye on her?"

Opening her eyes, Beth frowned. "Are you sure you won't mind?"

A bit surprised that she didn't refuse the offer, Phil bit his lip ring into his mouth. "No, I don't mind."

Without having to be told twice, Beth got to her feet and walked to him to kiss Aubrey. "Alright… I just need an hour, okay?"

The Chicago native nodded and soon after, she was walking upstairs without looking back.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me today." He said, looking at his daughter and smiling. That was going to be basically the first time he was left alone with her for such a long time and he hoped that he would do alright.

Sure, when he would come to visit, Beth would leave him alone with the little girl for short periods of time, but she would eventually go to them to change diapers, feed her or just to check if everything was fine.

Now it wasn't going to be so, it was all up to him.

But as it turned out, he didn't do that bad. What Aubrey wanted was basically what Beth said, crawl and explore at will and because he let her do whatever she pleased, she was happy.

But then an hour passed by and another and another and without Beth showing signs of being alive, Aubrey started to cry. He picked her up, he talked to her soothingly and he even tried to play, but with the baby still crying, he had no choice than calling her good friend Natalie so she could tell him what to do, which turned out to be three things.

Change the diaper, feed her and put her to sleep. Terrified, he followed her instructions and he did all of them relatively good, and once the baby was sleeping in his arms, he took her upstairs to her room.

Once things were good, he meant to go to Beth and wake her up, after all he had to leave already, but when he walked into her room and saw her passed out on top of the covers, he started to get worried.

"Beth?" He whispered, walking into the room until he was standing close to the bed. "Beth, are you alright?"

She didn't seem alright, what she looked was sick. True, her hair was partially hiding her face but he could still take a peek at her flushed face.

She looked hot… like actually hot and as he leaned forward to brush his fingers to her face, he found out that she was burning. Apparently she was running a fever and a very high one.

Sitting down on the bed, he shook her up until she started to stir. Then he forced her up to a sitting position and grabbing her face in his hands, he brushed the hair that had escaped the elastic band on top of her head out of her face. "Hey,"

Opening her eyes to slit and then closing them again, the blonde groaned. "Where's Aubrey?"

"She's sleeping in her crib. Beth, you are running one hell of a fever."

"I'm not feeling so good." She said, opening her eyes fully and staring into his eyes.

Without taking his hand away from her, he caressed her cheek tenderly. He was worried, he just couldn't help it.

True, their relationship was strained at their best but she was the mother of his daughter and he just had to care. Besides she was Beth, and even with all the things they had gone through, he would always have a soft spot for her.

"Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."

"No, no, no, I just need to take a shower and I'll feel better."

"Are you always this stubborn? Wait, don't even answer that as I think I know the answer."

Taking in a deep breath, Beth said nothing. Ah, but Phil could feel the heat radiating from her skin in huge waves and he also thought back at how light she has been when he sat her up.

That right there made him notice that she was skinnier… yeah he has noticed that she has been losing weight but it was just that she was a hell of a lot skinnier that he has even seen her.

It could be that she wasn't hitting the weights since Aubrey, but what if it was something serious?

"Let me take you to the hospital."

"I'm fine…"

"No you are not."

"Don't argue with me, I know how I feel and I know this will pass."

"Since when are you feeling like this?"

Shrugging, Beth closed her eyes back again. "I don't know, yesterday I felt sore all over but it wasn't until today that I woke up like this."

"You know what, I'll stay here a while longer. But if the fever doesn't come down, I'll take you to the hospital even if I have to drag you there."

Nodding, Beth breathed in. "Alright, I'll just take a shower and fix something to eat. I'll feel better after that."

"No, you take a shower and I'll get you something to eat. Until I say so, you are on a strictly bed rest, okay?"

Humming and her lips curving into something that resembled a smile, Beth nodded.

It was the closest thing to a genuine smile he has seen in her face in almost two years and at the sight of it, he was taken a bit aback.

What has he done to this woman that used to laugh and smile so carefree? How come that he changed her, that because of him she never seemed happy when he was around? Really, he just messed her up for good and what was worse, he was close to believing that she hated his guts like no one has in a long time.

The Beth he once knew didn't know how to hate, yet she was now this woman who just… hated him.

Ah, but he knew the answer to the previous question, he knew what he did to her and it wasn't his proudest memory.

Taking him out of his memories, Beth slid out of the bed and started to walk to the bathroom. But then, when she was at the door she turned around and looked at him.

"Phil…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

Pursing his lips, he shrugged and blinked his eyes slowly. "It's no problem, trust me." And it really wasn't, because whether she would believe it or not, he he would do anything for her… anything.


	8. Chapter 8

I had one or two requests to update this story and for a while now I've been trying to get back into it. Inspiration didn't come easy and I feel like this is lacking something, but even though, I hope I managed to do a decent job with this chapter.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The icy-cold water pouring out of the shower head felt like sharp needles chastising her over sensitive skin. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, that much she knew, but as much as she wanted to, she just couldn't bring herself to reach forward to turn the knob off.

She didn't exactly know what was happening to her, but it felt as if her whole body was paralyzed by a combination of lack of will and exhaustion and the result was that she was frozen on the spot.

Part of it was probably caused by the fact that she wasn't feeling that well; her skin was burning, her throat was scratchy, her head was pounding and her limbs felt heavy as stones. But another part, probably the biggest reason of why her mind was faltering was Phil. Yes; Phil, because as bad as she was physically feeling, she couldn't deny that _he_ was the biggest reason why she has been prolonging her shower for so long.

It was almost as if she was hoping that by staying there, standing still and with her eyes closed to the world, she was evading the inevitable encounter.

It was stupid, deep in her mind she knew that she couldn't stay there for much longer, but in the pinnacle of her ongoing fever, keeping herself in the safety of her bathroom for as long as she could seemed like a good idea.

Maybe he would grow tired of waiting and then he would just… go; thing that would make the blonde feel a hell of a lot better because honestly, by having him there she couldn't help but to have the distinct feeling that she was tip-toeing into a familiar dimension that she didn't want to explore again.

It was a strange feeling, one that has been harboring inside of her ever since waking up staring directly into the olive green orbs of his eyes.

It was almost as if his eyes served as some kind of portal that transported her back in time and now she was lost, floating but not quite landing in a place that she hadn't visited in a very long time…

Ah, but maybe it was the fever and not those eyes the reason she was feeling out of herself; after all her temperature was quite high and sometimes having fever caused people to feel funny and even delirious.

Yeah, that must be it, because after such a long time, Phil could cause nothing on her…

Half convinced, the former WWE Diva forced her eyes open and swallowing on dry, she extended her right hand to kill the shower. The effort of doing that wasn't as bad as she thought it would be so she took the moment to step out of the shower to dry herself.

Once out and dry, she did her best to put her mind in blank, then she dressed in the clothes she absentmindedly she took out of her drawers before getting into the bathroom and with one last breath intake, she walked out.

Now, as she has been dreadfully expecting, her former friend and father of her child was still there, sitting at the edge of her bed as if he had all rights in the world to do so.

True, in any other occasion, she would have snapped at the sole thought of having him invading the privacy of her home, but right in that moment she was too tired to do anything other than just stare.

"Hey," He said tentatively while standing up and as he did so, their eyes found each other in the chiaroscuro of her bedroom. "I got you these. Thought it could make you feel better."

At his words, Beth just looked away from his eyes and focused instead on the pills he was holding in his hand. "What's that?" She asked as her legs finally began to cooperate by moving away from the door.

"Nyquil, I found them in your kitchen's cabinets. I got you something to eat too."

Pouting her lips and nodding lightly, Beth blinked her eyes slowly, her head moving to the door. "I'm going to check Aubrey."

"She's still sleeping."

Ignoring what Phil just said, Beth walked pass him and headed out to make it into her daughter's bedroom. Now, like he said, the little girl was peacefully sleeping in her crib and at the sight of her, she smiled.

"Thanks for taking care of her while I slept." She said without taking her eyes away from Aubrey because she just knew that Phil was at the door.

She didn't have to look back to know; she could feel his unwanted presence the same way that she could feel his eyes on her.

"Anytime."

At the sound of his voice, Beth nodded once again and turning around, she saw him on the same spot she had imagined him, standing under the doorframe with one shoulder resting against the wood and all the intensity of his eyes fixed on her.

Right in that moment, she wanted to tell him that he could leave already, that she wanted him to leave; but there was that notion once again of tip-toeing over the edge that was preventing her from doing things the way she wanted to do them.

"I gave you that shirt." He said, his voice barely above a whisper while his lips curved into the phantom of a smile.

"You did?" Frowning, Beth tilted her head down, taking a good look at the shirt she was wearing. It was an old-oversized Rancid's shirt that she would use every now and then while in her house; and now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember where she got it.

Oh but there was one thing she knew, it was the kind of shirt he would wear.

"Yeah it was a few years ago; you borrowed it." He said with a shrug.

"Oh. Well I'll give it back. I'll- just let me change."

With that said, Beth shook her head; she just couldn't believe that with all the shirts she had, she had to put the one she supposedly borrowed from him.

But it could be that he was right, because once upon a time, before he became her own personal demon, she has considered the man to be more than a good friend and they used to spend a lot of time together.

Oh but now that was over and she didn't want anything from him so once she changed, she was going to give it back to him so that he could get out of her house already.

Then, once he was gone she would take the pills, go to bed so that she could go back to normal.

"Excuse me." She said when she attempted to walk out of the room and he didn't move.

"I don't want the shirt." He said somberly and without moving.

"Well I don't want it either. Now let me pass." She hissed, realizing that she was so tired of everything…

But instead moving away as she requested, what Phil did was stand his ground. "Beth…"

"No, don't say anything. Just let me pass." Closing her eyes and swallowing hard down, Beth said, her voice cracking the slightest bit as she spoke.

Yes, she was tired. For almost two years of her life she has invested a lot of her time in keeping all her feelings locked down and it just felt like they wanted to escape her at full speed in that moment.

Anger, pain, sadness… they all had suddenly become too much for her to keep inside.

"No, I'm not letting you pass by until you listen to me. Look," He said, blowing out a breath and running his finger through his short dark hair. "I know it's hard for you to deal with me after what I did and I don't blame you. But… don't you think it's already time for us to move on? It's been more than a year and…"

"Oh yeah, since it's been more than a year I should just forget all about it, right?" Snapping her fingers and widening her eyes, she smiled bitterly. "There you go; I forgot all about it so why don't we move on. Let's be friends again, let's go and have a drink or something, I'll even buy!"

Pushing his lip ring with the tip of his tongue, Phil breathed in and then he slowly let the air blow pass his lips.

"I know I messed up, Beth… I've been living with that for the longest time and there's not a single day I don't regret what happened that night. But I think I've told you and showed you over and over again how sorry I am so the least you could do is to let go of my throat already."

Snorting in disbelief, Beth shook her head. "Yes, leave it to poor Phil to make things about him. Just… get out of my way." After saying that, the blonde placed her hands to his chest and pushed him as hard as she could.

She managed to make him take a step back, but nothing more.

"I'm not playing around here, Phil, get out."

Recuperating his ground, the Chicago native grabbed Beth by the shoulders and made her swirl around so that her back was against the wall opposite to Aubrey's door. Once he had her like that, he leaned against her and pressed his forehead against her.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, his eyes delving deep into hers. "I'm sorry that I killed what we had and I'm sorry that we've became _this_ because of me."

Sucking in a breath, Beth blinked her eyes rapidly, feeling very aware that she was one step away from crying. She just couldn't help it, everything that she has been suppressing for the last several months was adding up and she was now feeling like she was going to explode.

Maybe it was the fever like she thought at first, but maybe it was all in the way his eyes were looking at her…

Once, once she would have believed everything that spilled out of his mouth just by having him look at her like that… once.

"I know I hurt you and you have all the right in the world to hate me;" Hissing those words, his hands moved from her shoulders to her face. "Maybe that's my karma, having you hate me like this and being unable to move on because trust me, I can't move on from the way I feel for you; I've tried and tried and I just can't."

Biting down her trembling lips, Beth felt as the first tear slid down her cheek; as soon as it escaped her, her intention has been of wiping it away. But before she could do it, Phil used his thumb to do it himself.

"I don't hate you." She said at last because yes, as angry and hurt as she felt, she couldn't just hate him. "I should hate you though, God knows that I should."

"Beth-" He whispered, his breath a soft caress against her face.

"No, I listened to you so now it's your turn to listen. You say that not a single day has gone by without you regretting what happened? Well that's exactly how I feel, or is it that you think that it was easy for me to recover from that?"

Letting the words sink, Beth pursed her lips. She did it without pushing his hands away from her face.

"I loved you, Phil, but more than that I trusted you and look at what you did. You just… after what you did it wasn't easy for me to spend long nights wondering where did it all go wrong or why you all of a sudden started to treat me like that. But you know what? I pulled through, even when you shoved my face in the mud I was able to get up on my own two feet and I moved on. Maybe you should do the same."

"Did you really move on?" He asked, his fingers making a stop on her lips so that he could trace them softly.

But before she could even answer that question, he leaned forward and replaced his fingers with his lips.

"Don't-" She mumbled, trying to move her face away from his, but as if he hadn't even listened, he followed her lips and in a matter of nothing he was kissing her again.

Tilting her head up, Phil added a bit of more pressure into the kiss and Beth just allowed him, her eyes closing in instinct as she finally jumped over the edge.

Now this was something she solemnly sworn never to do again, let him kiss her; but with her mind messed up as it was and the fever clouding her judgment, she found herself being carried away into the moment and when she felt his thumb pulling her chin down to create space for his tongue, she received him gladly.

Nowhere in her mind could she find any argument against what was happening so she just… kissed him back.

Yes, it was definitely the fever. There was no other explanation to justify the fact that as he kissed her, her hands found their way to his chest or that her tongue started to move against his in a way it has never done before.

Sure, they had kissed… they had done more than kissing; but those kisses that reigned over the night she allowed him to have her against a wall were more about raw passion and lust while this kiss was more about exploring and tasting.

Besides it has been such a long time that the feeling of his lips on hers and his tongue swirling inside her mouth felt like a new experience.

But… as different as it felt, she couldn't forget that this was the same Phil, the one that hurt her like no one else had hurt her in her life.

With that in mind, Beth pulled away from his lips and clenching her jaw, she settled her eyes on her daughter's bedroom. "I think you better leave."

Dropping his hands away from her, Phil looked down at her while the tip of his fingers ran smoothly down his jaw. "Is that what you want?"

Nodding without looking at him, Beth crossed her arms to her chest. She didn't say anything though, not that she needed to because after staring at her for the good part of a minute, Phil turned around and walked straight towards the baby's crib.

Once there he touched the girl's hair, leaned forward to whisper something to her and then he was walking out.

Beth watched him, her blue eyes fixing on him as he made his way back to her. "That's not what you want and you know it."

With that said, Phil finally took a turn, walked down the stairs and out of her house.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I'm on a mission, ending all my stories. It will take me a while, but soon I'll go back to work (bummer) and with two kids, a full time job and well, a busy life, it would be hard for me to update regularly. So, when it comes to this story, this is the only way I could end things so here it is. Thanks for the support; I'm so glad that you liked this ;)

**XxXxXxX**

If there was something that was very clear in Phil's mind, it was that if he walked out in that moment, he was going to lose his case. Leaving like Beth told him to do would be as good as renouncing to the hope of her and he wasn't sure if he could do that. Sure, he was also aware that staying was not going to guarantee him good results; but if he walked out… if he walked out he was definitely going to lose her for good.

Wrapping his fingers around the knob of the door, Phil lifted his head and for a whole minute he stared into the dark skies that stretched into infinity like a black canvas above Beth's house.

No, couldn't leave…

If he closed that door and walked out, he was basically giving her all the time in the world to armor herself back against him and he knew damn well that she was going to do just that. By the next time he would be able to come back to try and talk things out with her, she would be safely hiding behind that huge brick wall she has constructed to guard herself from him and as much as he could try, he wasn't going to be able to break through.

That night he has been able to jump over that wall, he didn't tear it down, but he managed to make it to the other side and from there, he made an impact. An opportunity like that wasn't going to present itself for a second time so no, he couldn't just go.

What he needed to do was exploit the fact that her defenses were down and strike with everything he had. That night she wasn't completely immune to him and he needed to make the most of it.

Yeah, some would consider his tactics to be low and vile since she wasn't feeling so well, but desperate times called for desperate actions and he has never been afraid to use all his resources to get what he wanted.

He had nothing to lose anyway; if at the end of it all she would stand strong in her resolution of pushing him away, things would stay the same; but if he managed to break through, he would be gaining everything.

Besides that night she has showed him that she still felt something for him and after having that knowledge, he wouldn't be able to let go. Yes, he knew that what he did to her has been awful and that's why he has remained away, but now that he realized that the way he acted that night didn't completely kill whatever feelings she had for him, he wasn't willing to let go without trying his best to reach to her.

It would be different if she didn't feel anything. If that would have been the case he would just let her be and keep living as he could; but it wasn't different, not as long as she still felt something.

Making his mind on what he had to do, he stepped back and once inside her house, he closed the door.

Talking would prove to be futile, he was almost sure about that; Beth was strong-willed almost as much as she was proud and she could spend the rest of her life resenting him even if it meant swallowing down her feelings. But if he made her see and feel that what they had wasn't dead, things could prove to be different.

Yeah it was going to be risky, but like he stated before, he had nothing to lose.

Turning around and heading upstairs, the Chicago native ran a hand down his face and made it to her bedroom. He found her sitting at the edge of her bed and as soon as he stepped inside her head turned to him.

He didn't say anything and neither did she, they just looked at each other, her blue eyes shining in the darkness as his olive greens fixed deeply into them.

Yes, her defenses were definitely down, otherwise she would be yelling for him to get out. But she didn't, she was just there, looking at him, almost as if she has been expecting him.

Barely noticing her surroundings, Phil's eyes got caught up in her and taking a few more steps until he was standing right in front of the bed he reached for her, cradling her face with his hands and gently forcing her to stand up from the mattress.

"Don't do this-" She said in a soft whisper that barely made it pass her throat, but when his lips found hers in the semi-darkness taking over her room, she didn't pull away.

Her lips felt soft and warm against his and as he added a bit more pressure, his hand found its way to the back of her head and the other one went to her lower back. That way he held her close, so close that he could feel the heat of her body radiating out of her skin in huge waves so he could absorb it as his own.

Beth… for almost two years, the two of them had gone through a lot. He was the one that caused that, he knew it, but she has also hurt him as well. She basically tried to rob him the opportunity of seeing his daughter grow up and if it hadn't been because he casually found out about her, she would have succeeded.

That was a fact that forever will live in the back of his head, but even with that, it was time to move on.

It was either that or dwelling forever in a world full of resentments and he didn't think it was fair for her, for him and let alone for their daughter.

Tilting his head to the side, Phil caught Beth's bottom lip between his teeth and ran the tip of his tongue through it. That right there made the mother of his child sigh against his mouth and he took that as his okay to go on.

As he did earlier on, he deepened the kiss by pushing his tongue pass her lips and much as it happened before, he found no resistance.

Her tongue moved for him, sliding against his and thus making their kiss turn into something more intimate and rewarding; even her hands moved for him, resting against his chest as both their breathing turned into one.

There were really no words needed for what was happening, talking hadn't done anything for them so it was time to let their acts guide them through.

At least that was what Phil was thinking and with that thought in his mind, he took everything that he could.

Refusing to break from the kiss, he wrapped both his arms to her waist and lifting her off the floor as if she weighed nothing, he carried her to the bed. Then, laying her there, he lowered himself down until he came to rest against her and then he started to kiss her even more deeply.

**XxXxXxX**

Her head was spinning and she wasn't thinking with the full capacity of her brain. She knew it because there was no way she would be granting Phil the liberty of doing the things he was doing if she was in her right mind.

She didn't even know if she would be able to explain what was going on if someone suddenly came to ask her why the hell she wasn't fighting him off. No, she wouldn't know how to explain it and all she could think about was that she didn't have the strength needed to fight him or the feelings that had taken over her.

In some way it was as if she was living a déjà vu moment and her mind traveled back to the night that marked the beginning of their hell; he came to her, he kissed like never before and she just gave him free reign to do with her as he pleased.

That has been her mistake and because of that, she knew she should be kicking him out for good; but at the same time her body was too weak and what was worse, her will to do such a thing has been beaten too weak as well.

Lifting one hand and running it through his short hair, Beth moved her head away from his lips. "Phil-" She breathed out, trying to form a coherent sentence that would beg him to please leave her alone. But when his lips descended to her throat and he started nibbling and then soothing her skin with his tongue, she found herself to be helpless.

Giving into him seemed to be something she was doomed to repeat as long as she had blood running through her veins and apparently, he knew it and was using that for his advantage.

Now, what she was dreading more than anything in that moment, was that he would pull the same thing he pulled on her that night so long ago… but was that enough to push him away? Would it make her feel better if instead of giving in she would spend her life burying her feelings down?

Blinking her eyes closed and moving her fingers to the nape of his neck, the blonde swallowed hard down. As she lay there, she could feel the way his stubble grazed the sensitive skin on her face and she had no choice than to breath into the moment.

Maybe it would be better if they talked things out first, maybe it was time for them to move on from the past and start living in the present.

**XxXxXxX**

Inhaling into her sweet scent, Phil dragged his lips down to her collarbone, raining a series of soft kisses everywhere his lips would land. Beth didn't seem to have any objections to that so he went on, his lips working on her tender skin and his hands taking the liberty of starting to undress her.

First it was her shirt, the one he had once been his, and when that one was gone and tossed to the floor, he helped himself to take the rest off along with his.

Beth allowed him to do that and she kissed him as he kissed her and her hands touched him as if she wanted to memorize the contours of his body; but even though her resistance was zero and she was doing her part in the whole thing, he could feel under his fingertips that she was extremely tense.

It made him think on the days he was training guys for a living and on the way some of them moved and worked inside the ring at first. Yeah, a lot of those guys were eager to get in the square circle, but at the same time they were afraid of getting hurt and they worked stiff as a brick.

That's how Beth felt under him, tense… stiff, but at the same time he could also feel her eagerness.

Moving his head up, he stared into her face. Her eyes were half closed, her cheeks were tinged with a touch of red and her lips were moist and ready for him to claim.

She looked breathtaking and it took him a few seconds to recuperate his composure.

"I can't do this." She said at last, her eyes digging deep into his as she blinked rapidly. "I can't-"

As a response, Phil kissed the corner of her lips. "Beth." He said, savoring the way her name felt rolling out of his tongue. There were so many things he could say to her in that moment, but for the time being he remained silent, pinning her down against the mattress and her body an inch away from welcoming him.

It would be so easy to claim her that night as his once again, the only thing he needed to do was push against her and that was it. In the position they were in, with her legs at each side of his hips and his throbbing erection pressing against her sex, he would only need one thrust and he would be inside of her.

That was how close they were, their bare bodies melting against each other.

**XxXxXxX**

She could feel him holding back, actually, she could feel the way his whole body was tensing as he held back. His arms even gave a small tremble as he supported his weight on his elbows over her and Beth did nothing but close her eyes and part her lips as if to say something.

"I love you." He whispered, his lips touching hers lightly; after saying that he snorted softly. "Sounds corny as hell but it's true, I always did and I always will."

Sucking in a breath, Beth opened her eyes. "It's not fair… Phil; you can't hurt me, regret it and then pretend nothing ever happened."

Backing his head a little, Phil licked his lips. "I don't pretend that you forget what happened Beth, I know that's impossible. I just… I just want us to be able to move on from the past and give us a chance to try thing out. Two years is a long time to be so full anger."

As he said that, Beth could feel the way his erection was already settled between her folds. If he decided to give a little push, he would slide right in and she wasn't sure anymore if that was such a bad thing. And who knew? Maybe he wouldn't even had to give that push as it seemed that her body was accepting him without either one of them moving a muscle.

She could already feel the head of his manhood halfway in and at the feeling, she swallowed hard down.

"One opportunity; that's all I need to make it up to you."

As he said that, Beth couldn't help but to feel her eyes watering and she closed them not to cry. She definitely wasn't feeling like herself and she didn't want him to notice; but when Phil started to kiss her closed eyelids, she tilted her head up and kissed him full on the lips.

"If you hurt me-"

**XxXxXxX**

Beth began to talk against his lips, but taking in the meaning of her words and the kiss that she initiated, Phil pressed his mouth back to hers and silenced her.

She didn't need to say more so he kissed her tenderly, his tongue seeking hers once again so they could begin the journey of getting used to each other.

"I won't, never again." He mumbled, but this time Beth grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her, forcing him to resume the kiss.

He did, and amidst their kiss, he gave that ultimate push that took him home, a home that he would never desecrate again, a home that he would never leave again.

**FIN**

Alright, I can definitely consider writing an epilogue to close this even more nicely, who knows, right? ;) Thanks for reading!


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